Man walks onto the monorail track near Westlake

Published 10:00 pm, Monday, December 1, 2008

A man (back to camera) who climbed onto the Monorail at the Westlake Center is helped off the rail after surrendering to police in Seattle on Monday.

A man (back to camera) who climbed onto the Monorail at the Westlake Center is helped off the rail after surrendering to police in Seattle on Monday.

Photo: Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Man walks onto the monorail track near Westlake

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Seattle's monorail was temporarily shut down Monday after a man was seen walking, and at times lying, on the tracks outside Westlake Center, police reported.

Police were called just after 10 a.m. Officers quickly discovered the man was deaf and called for an officer who knew sign language. The officer managed to coax the man off the tracks and back into the mall about 20 minutes later, police spokeswoman Renee Witt said.

The man, in his 30s, was taken into custody and transported to Harborview Medical Center for a mental evaluation. Police were uncertain why he jumped onto the tracks, about 30 feet above Fifth Avenue. Police think he is transient, Witt said.

An officer at the scene said the man at one point appeared to chase the monorail as it pulled away from the platform toward Seattle Center.